Job Tips: How to Ask for a Promotion in 4 vital steps

You know, that job promotion you so badly need and want? It takes a specific strategy to acquire it. Learn how to get it in four important steps.

1) Identify the reason(s) behind your desire to be promoted

There could be several reasons behind an employee’s motivation to receive a job promotion. One of those is boredom: possessing a role that doesn’t challenge you enough or isn’t quite in your niche can deprive you from blooming as a professional. However, the biggest reason is arguably a salary matter. Logically, the higher you are ranked within your company, the bigger your paycheck. Whatever is driving you to look for a promotion, you need to know what it is. Once you’ve clarified what you’re looking for, you can proceed to Step 2.

2) Make a good case for yourself

Earning a job promotion doesn’t happen overnight. It can take a year or more to receive it, you must work for it like a hunter hunts for his prey. To make a good case for yourself, you need to build consistency as an employee by respecting your company’s work ethics and matching – if not exceeding – targets regularly. Document every single thing you do: how you report to work on time, how much you produce during working hours, how many tough projects you have managed to ace, and the list goes on.

3) Identify and explain how your promotion would benefit your company

However, be mindful that it must be a win-win case. A job promotion is not just about you. It’s about your company too. You need to conduct a research and find answers to the following questions:

Can the company afford to promote you from a financial point of view?

Is the company well equipped to fill the void you will cause by leaving your current role for a higher one?

What is the status of that higher position you are targeting? Is it vacant or currently occupied by an under-performing or departing employee?

Getting the correct answers to the questions above will help you construct your argument better. The argument you will present to your employer needs to sound positive. It must not only market your capacities for the role you are eyeing, but also present all the benefits that the company will receive if it chooses to promote you. You may even give a clue of the ideas you wish to implement should you land the new role. This will show that you care about the company’s growth and aren’t only targeting a salary increase for selfish reasons.

4) The request

When you feel you’ve proven yourself enough and on a consistent basis, gather all the statistics and facts that favor your request and present them to your employer in an appropriate way. To begin, choose the correct time and date to discuss the matter. Give an early notice for your boss to schedule talks with you on his/her agenda.

When the time arrives for talks, look smart but not arrogant. Your body language will be key. The first thing you need to avoid is the possibility of a heated argument or cold silence. You are making a request, remember, so you cannot afford to irritate your manager or waste their time. This would only turn against you. So be clear and concise. Use your soft skills. Whether the meeting takes place online (via chat/call) or face to face, start it off politely and warmly. It’s a crucial moment and it would be normal for stress to settle in but you must and can overcome that.

Here’s how:

Firstly, by rehearsing as many times as required.

Secondly, by conditioning your mind with the simple fact that you’ve done your homework; in other words, you have documented achievements and general behavior should speak for themselves.

Thirdly, you do not need to worry anymore. You targeted the moment long before and worked through a strategy. Now, the time has arrived for talks. You do not need to fear. You are prepared, so go on and discuss over your promotion.

What’s next?

Finally, should your promotion request be declined, take a step back and try to objectively look at what happened. Assess your employer’s reasons for rejecting your request. Accept any sort of constructive criticism offered to you and decide on your next steps – whether is to stay at your current company and continue the fight to higher ranks, or move on to another work place. The choice for career progression solely rest in hands.